Grooved game board for spherical play pieces



Nov. 7, 1950 R. H. SEAMAN GROOVED GAME BOARD FOR SPHERICAL PLAY PIECES Filed April 29, 1947 INVENTOR. i fi h. mm? J 57 Patented Nov. 7, 1 950 GROOVED GAME BOARD FOR SPHERICAL PLAY PIECES Ralph H. Seaman, Auburndale, Mass.

Application April 29, 1947, Serial No. 744,568

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a game.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel, interesting and fascinating game comprising a game board and a plurality of opposing game pieces adapted to be pushed, step by step, over a playing surface formed in the surface of the board towards goals at opposed sides of the field of play.

The surface of the board is formed to provide intersecting channels related in size to that of the game pieces movable therethrough whereby to enable adjacent pieces to be pushed along together in an aligned row, or, to permit parallelly arranged rows of pieces to pass each other during the play of the game.

With this object in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the game embodying a game board and playing pieces traversable over the board as hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a plan view of a game embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the game board; and Fig.

3 is a detail view upon a larger scale illustrating the relative proportions of the game board and the game pieces in accordance with the present invention.

In general, the present invention relates to a game comprising a game board of novel construction provided with equally spaced intersecting longitudinal and transverse channels forming raised portions between the channels, and a plurality of game pieces preferably spherical in shape, adapted to be moved along said channels and to be supported in sockets formed by the raised portions at said intersections. In accordance with the present invention the equally spaced intersecting channels and the game pieces are so proportioned relative to each other as to 7 permit adjacent aligned pieces in one channel to be pushed along together from one intersection to another by peripheral engagement of adjacent pieces and, also to permit one piece to pass another piece lodged in an adjacent socket orv inter- 1 and preferably Will be spherical in shape and adapted to be manually moved along the channels and to cometo rest at said intersections in sockets formed by the adjacent squares [6, the corners of the squares at the intersections forming four point bearings for the spherical game pieces or balls l8.

In practice, the upper edges of the squares I6 may be rounded or beveled, as indicated at 20, forming a track to facilitate movement of the balls along the channels, and, the d'epth of the channels may be such as to maintain the balls in an elevated position so that they do not touch the bottom of the channels.

The game board so is further provided with goals 22, 24 respectively at two opposite sides of the board preferably defined by breaks or openings in a line 26 drawn in the outermost channels and designating the outer marginal edges of the playing field.

In accordance with the present invention the playing pieces or balls l8 may and preferably will be of equal size and of a diameter slightly less than the distance from center to center of the intersections, or, center to center of adjacent parallel channels so that in play adjacent aligned balls in the same channel may be pushed along together from one intersection or socket to another by peripheral engagement of adjacent balls, or, one or more balls in one channel may pass by one or more balls disposed in an adjacent parallel channel. As an example of the proportions desired to be maintained, the distance from center to center of the intersections or from centerto center of adjacent parallel channels may be about one inch, and the diameter of the balls about thirty-one thirty-seconds of an inch so that there will be a space of one thirty-second of an inch clearance between balls in adjacent sockets to permit the movement described. In the above example, the width of the channel may be about three-eighths of an inch, making the squares I6 about five-eighths of an inch square, and, the depth of the channels may be about one-quarter of an inch.

Although the number of sockets or intersections in a game board may be varied, andthe number of playing pieces may likewise be varied, the illustrated game is designed to be played by two persons, the game board having eighty-one sockets and each player having eleven playing pieces of the same color, the color of one set of playing pieces differing from that of his opponent. As herein shown, the playing pieces l8c on the lefthand side of the field of play in Fig. 1 are conventionally indicated as being yellow, and those designated 18b on the righthand side are indicated as being red. A central playing piece, numbered I80, which is to be pushed through a goal in order to score may be of a different color, herein indicated as green, andin the play of the game is initially placed in the central socket of the board, as illustrated.

In playing the game, each player'initially arranges his playing pieces on his own side of the playing field'in two rows of five in each row extending diagonally from the center to the corners of the board, each piece being supported in a socket and forming in effect a V-formation. One piece of each player is placed directly in front of his own goal. As above stated, the object of the game is to push the central piece or green ball I80 through the opponents goal and each player takes a turn ,in making three moves, a movement from one socket or intersection being counted as one move. The three moves may be made either by moving one piece through three intersections; one piece through two intersections and another through one; or he may move three different pieces from one intersection to another.

During the play of the game, a player may push.

(but not pull) his opponents playing pieces provided that he has aligned in any row in which the push is to be directed a greater number of playing pieces than his opponent. For example, if there are three red pieces aligned in a row with two yellow pieces, then the red player may push thegtwo red pieces through three spaces or intersections corresponding'to his three moves, or he may push them one or two spaces as he elects utilizing the remainder of his three moves with other playing pieces. If there are none of the opponents playing pieces in the row in which a player elects to move, then he may move through one, two or three moves as the situation dictates. In moving the playing pieces either toward his opponents, or laterally thereof, a player may eventually push one or more of the opponents playing pieces from the playing field, and in doing that he thereby eliminates from further play those of the opponents playing pieces which have been thus moved from the field. In this way it is possible to reduce the number of the remaining available playing pieces which the opponent may use in opposing the players movement of the playing or green ball I80 so that eventually a player may succeed in pushing the green ball through the opponents goal and thus win the game. I

In the preferred embodiment of the invention a player may move the particular one of his playing pieces which is immediately adjacent the green ball H30 in any direction either longitudinally or transversely corresponding either to a push or a pull, and in addition may carry the green ball alongside the playing piece being moved.

Neither side has any pulling, power over the jacent intersections. The balance of power may be altered in one line by pushing an opponents piece out and leaving the players own piece in the line. It takes two pieces to push one piece out of line. One playing piece may not push or be pushed by one piece of his opponent, as each piece is of equal strength.

The central or green piece must not be moved to the outer marginal edges of the board, defined by the line 26, except when passing through the goal posts. Any red or yellow piece pushed off the board is eliminated from further play. The team scoring the first goal wins the game. It neither side is able to score, the game ends in a draw.

The present game board and game pieces may be used to play various games based on the movement of the playing pieces through the channels formed in the playing board, and the play of the game above described comprises merely the preferred form of game utilizing the game board and playing pieces to provide a novel, fascinating and interesting game, and one requiring substantial skill.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described it will be understood'that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

,1. A game apparatus comprising a game board and a plurality of spherical game pieces, said game board having equally spaced intersecting longitudinal and transverse channels at 1 right angles to each other forming raised square portions providing sockets at the intersections of said channels for said spherical game pieces, the spacing between adjacent channels being related to the diameter of the game pieces so that game pieces supported in adjacent sockets will be in substantial peripheral engagement with each other.

2. A game apparatus comprising a game board and a plurality of spherical game pieces, said game board having equally spaced intersecting longitudinal and transverse channels at right angles to each other forming raised square portions providing sockets at the intersections. of said channels for said spherical game pieces, the spacing between adjacent channels being substantially equal to the diameter of the game pieces so that a row of game pieces disposed in adjacent aligned sockets of a channel will. be in substantialIperipheral engagement with each other.

3. A- game apparatus comprising a game board and a plurality-of spherical game pieces, said game board having equally spaced intersecting longitudinal and transverse channels at right angles to each other forming raised square portions providing sockets at the intersections of said channels for said spherical game pieces, the spacing between adjacent channels being substantially equal to the diameter of the game pieces so that a row of game pieces disposed in adjacent aligned sockets of a channelwill be in substantial peripheral engagement with each other whereby to enable said row to be moved along the channel'as a unit and come to rest in succeeding sockets whilemaintained in said peripheral engagement.

4. A game apparatus comprising a game board anda plurality of spherical game pieces, said game board having equally spaced intersecting lon t dinal and transverse channels at right angles to each other forming raised square portions providing sockets at the intersections of said channels for said spherical game pieces, the spacing between adjacent channels being only slightly greater than the diameter of the game pieces so that a row of game pieces disposed in adjacent aligned sockets of a channel will be in substantial peripheral engagement with tions providing sockets at the intersections of saidchannels for said spherical game pieces, the spacing between adjacent channels being only slightly greater than the diameter of the game pieces so that a row of game pieces disposed in adjacent aligned sockets ofa channel will be insubstantial peripheral engagement with each other whereby to enable said row to be moved along the channel as a unit and come to rest in succeeding sockets while maintained in said peripheral engagement, and to enable a second row of game pieces disposed in an adjacent parallel channel to be pushed past said first row in play.

6. A game apparatus comprising a game board and a plurality of spherical game pieces, said said channels for said spherical game pieces, I

the spacin between adjacent channels being only slightly greater than the diameter of the game pieces so that a, row of game pieces dis posed in adjacent aligned sockets of a channel will be in substantial peripheral engagement with each other whereby to enable said row to be moved along the channel as 'a unit and to come to rest in succeeding sockets while maintained in said peripheral engagement, and to enable a second row of pieces disposed in a channel at right angles to said first named row to be pushed to displace a game piece in said first named row and to pass through said first row.

'7. A game apparatus comprising a game board and a plurality of spherical game pieces, said game board having equally spaced intersecting longitudin'a1 and transverse channels at right angles to each other forming raised square portions providing sockets defined by the corners of the squares at said intersections of said channels for supporting said spherical game. pieces, the spacing between adjacent channels being only slightly greater than the diameter of the game pieces so that a row of game pieces disposed in adjacent aligned sockets of a channel will be in substantial peripheral engagement with each other whereby to enable said row to be moved along the channel as a unit and come to rest in succeeding sockets while maintained in said peripheral engagement, the upper edges 1 of said squares being beveled to facilitate movement of the game pieces along the channels.

8. A game apparatus comprising a substantially rectangular game board and a plurality of spherical game pieces, said game board having equally spaced intersecting longitudinal and transverse channels extending the full length and breadth of the game board and formingraised square portions providing sockets at the intersections of said channels for said game pieces, the spacing between adjacent channels being substantially equal to the diameter of the game pieces so that a row of game pieces disposed in adjacent aligned sockets of a channel will be in substantial peripheral engagement with each other whereby to enable longitudinal or transverse rows of game pieces to be moved along their respective channels as a unit to come to rest in succeeding sockets while maintained in said peripheral engagement, and to pass or displace each other in play.

9. A game apparatus comprising a substantially rectangular game board and a plurality of spherical game pieces, said game board having equally spaced intersecting longitudinal and transverse channels extending the full length and breadth of the game board and forming raised square portions providing sockets at the intersections of said channels for said'game pieces, the spacing between adjacent channels being substantially equal to the diameter of the game pieces so that a row of game pieces disposed in adjacent aligned sockets of a channel will be in substantial peripheral engagement with each other whereby to enable longitudinal or transverse rows of game pieces to be moved along their respective channels as a unit to come to rest in succeeding sockets while maintained in said peripheral engagement, and to pass or displace each other in play, the outermost channels on each side designating the outer limits of the playing field and the central sockets in two opposed outermost channels comprising goals through which a game piece may be pushed. RALPH H. SEAMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

, UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Berlanger Jan. 22, 1929 

